Konso
by BannerOfStark
Summary: Post-Aizen AU. Ichigo's powers didn't return. His father and Karin left for the soul society. All he has is Yuzu. But then he had his children and little ones. He's 86 years old and outlived everyone. It is finally his time to pass on. It's time to make good on his stories and storm the Seireitei. He just might take some names while he's there.
1. Chapter 1

**This was an idea that's been rattling around in my head. Let me know how you feel. Warning it isn't Beta-ed… so enjoy. Let me know how you feel via comment or PM which ever you please. Possible Chaptered Story (PCS) dealing with his interactions with reuniting with those he lost…? If that's the case I will probe rewrite to give more history. Cool? Cool.**

 **He didn't regain his powers after the war. Super AU.**

 **I don't own Bleach or any of the characters. I make no money from this.**

Ichigo was dying… And he really couldn't bring himself to care much.

Karin had left the living world young. He says left because Karin left purposefully, he knew that even though the others told him otherwise. He knew her powers grew stronger over the years and she had been ensnared just as he had been all those years ago. He also knew what they had tried to keep from him but he had seen it long ago with they had been young. There had been a mutual level of enamorment between his sister and a certain captain. She left when she was 25 although she looked younger. Her night black hair had grown out and she had taken to wearing it down again. She had grown so much but she still seemed so small to Ichigo as she hadn't met his shoulder in hight. She had also remained thin, maintaining her build with sports and (he wasn't supposed to know) fighting hollows. Since the war she had seemed a bit lighter though her personality had remained as sharp and biting as it had ever been. She attended a university in Karakura for sports medicine while also training with Urahara and the others. She had graduated but by that time she was spending more time dealing with the spirit world that she made the decision to join them permanently so with the help of Urahara she had stepped out of her body and didn't return. Ichigo had been told there had been an accident when she was driving home but he was no fool.

And with her departure, to add salt to Ichigo and Yuzu's wounds, Isshin had followed after her. He had gotten his own powers back during the war and was helping with patrols, which subsequently meant a growing distance between himself and the two family members that couldn't see or interact with the spirit world. Yuzu and Ichigo more often than not ate dinner together, leaving the left overs in the fridge, and spent the night together studying. He gave them his reasons. Too look after Karin and be in a better position to protect his family among other things Ichigo couldn't remember because he had zoned out by the first sentence out of the man's mouth. Yuzu had been devastated and cried for days after their departure. For months she found herself cooking enough food for four instead of two which would upset her more. She had been given time off from her university which she had spent in depression. Ichigo would come home after his own classes at the med school to find her sitting in the living room in near silence just staring at the wall with the radio on.

She had bounced back and finished the last bit of her schooling, graduating with high marks from the nursing program. Ichigo had been so proud of her. After the ceremony he had pulled her into his arms for a big hug which she returned. They had asked a person near them if she would snap a few quick pictures of them. The woman had done so with a smile before looking between them. She had asked if they were the same Kurosaki family that had lost two family members earlier that year. Ichigo had confirmed softly, looking over to Yuzu who was frowning as well. She was with the school's newspaper. She had turned to Yuzu and asked for an interview for the alumni magazine. Yuzu had agreed and sure enough the next issue of the schools alumni magazine was released with an image of the two Kurosaki hugging on the front cover. Yuzu's interview had been the feature piece and it had garnered a lot of attention. Yuzu had received so many calls about job offers and nurturing her career with more schooling, but she had done what she had longed to do. She worked at a smaller office in the pediatric department where she was adored by all of the children. It was also where she eventually met her husband, Dr. Hiro Yasuda.

It had been a slow romance that Ichigo took joy (probably too much joy) watching. He himself had become a Family Practitioner, taking up running the Kurosaki Clinic after a few years of being an Emergency Doctor at the local hospital. Hiro has a gentle, quite man which went very well with Yuzu's exuberance. He would often come over to the Kurosaki residence after their office closed and would have dinner with them. Yuzu had decided not to move out of the house and it was closer that Hiro's home so more often then not Ichigo would come in from closing down the clinic to find Yuzu and Hiro setting the table and making dinner together. They had toed around each other so much sometimes that Ichigo almost couldn't contain his laughter. He hadn't put up the protective big brother act with Hiro like he had with the few other men Yuzu had dated because he could tell this man was nothing but the best for his baby sister. When they finally admitted their feelings to each other it also became common for Ichigo to find them curled up together on the couch in a table of limbs on weekends off for movie marathons. He would simply turn off the TV, cover them with a blanket, and retreat to his room.

They were eventually married and they moved out. They bought a house closer to their jobs which also happened to be closer to him too (he wasn't complaining). They had left for their honeymoon and Ichigo had been left with a quiet house again. He hadn't realized exactly how much he had come to rely on Yuzu being there. They would be gone a week on their honeymoon but so much longer than that. He would be alone…

But he wasn't because he closed down the clinic on Monday and shuffled into the kitchen to find Yuzu and Hiro setting the table and cooking dinner together. They had smiled at him as he looked at them blankly. It became a routine. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Yuzu and Hiro would eat dinner with him, nag him a bit about going out to find someone for himself, then wish him a good night and head home.

Then came the announcement. Yuzu was pregnant. Ichigo looked at them for a moment before his face nearly cracked with his large smile. He immediately called all babysitting duties.

Yuzu and Hiro had four children. Their first had been a little boy who inherited his fathers dark mop of hair and Yuzu's chocolate colored eyes. The next had actually been a set of identical twin girls with Yuzu's Honey colored hair and Hiro's light grey eyes. They turned into the pranksters of the family, full of mischief and creativity that left no one safe. Their youngest was another little boy, the spitting image of his mother but with a personality closer to his father.

He had been so happy to become an Uncle. He would offer to take the children anytime he could. He thinks it might have made Yuzu a bit upset that he himself had settled down but settled alone.

Everything had been good and Ichigo should have realized that something was coming. Yuzu had started not feeling well. She had been under the weather for a long time and both he and Hiro had older her repeatedly to go to her doctor. She had always said she was just tired and she just needed sleep. But she was loosing weight and didn't get sleep. She had finally given in on a Monday night when he and Hiro found her in the bathroom unable to keep down her dinner.

She came back to the clinic on Friday the next week with Hiro. The kids had been put in the play room (yes he made a play room) and the three sat down for a talk. Yuzu had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. He sat stunned as he looked between the two.

The children stayed with him often during Yuzu's fight with cancer. Hiro always apologized but Ichigo would always let him know that they were always welcome for however long was needed. It was also during this time that a few other children came under Ichigo's care. Uryuu and Orihime's two sons came into his care after they died. He hadn't talked to them in ages. He didn't know how they died. He was told an illness but… The oldest was a year older than Haru, Yuzu and Hiro's youngest son and the longer was the same age as the Twins.

It was crushing when Yuzu lost her fight. Hiro was devastated and the children where no better off. Ichigo invited Hiro to stay with him for a while. Take off work and relax. If he really wanted to he could help with the clinic. Hiro took him up on it and Ichigo's relatively small house was suddenly full. He slept on the couch most nights, letting some of the children share his bed.

Eventually Hiro went back to work, though he moved to the hospital. He worked there for a few years when Ichigo got a call. There was some kind of explosion that went off at the hospital. When Ichigo arrived he realized what had actually happened. There were deep gouges cut up the side of the building. Claw marks. It had been a hollow that attacked the hospital. Hiro had been found dead and Ichigo knew exactly why. Hiro like Yuzu, had developed the ability to kind of see the spirits somehow. They had been drawn to him.

Now it was just him and his six children, which lead him to this moment.

His children (nieces and nephews but they were family so they were his and that's all that mattered) were grown and had children of their own. They all understood that their Uncle Ichi would be leaving soon. His children understood but the little ones had been horribly upset when they had been told. Ichigo had them gather around his bed and he told them stories of a young man who had stormed the soul society years ago. He told them of great sword fights, monsters, and heroes. They've all heard the stories before but they were all suckers for Uncle Ichi's. They didn't know that the stories were about him in his youth but some of them saw the spirits and the others were all believers (hard not to be).

So he told the children he was going to be like that boy and storm the seireitei. He was going to bust in from whatever district he would be from and he was going to str up all sorts of trouble. The little ones giggled and most of them encouraged him. Only two little Ishida's with their seemingly inherited seriousness discouraged him. His children, who knew the stories and who he was n them, just looked on fondly.

"I'm not sure you're in the best condition to take on the shinigami uncle," Tamami, one of Yuzu's twin girls, laughed.

"Whipper snappers these days!" he cried in return jokingly. "No respect! No respect at all!"

"But uncle Ichi!" cried one of the little ones, genuine concern in her voice. "If you make a fuss with the shinigami they could hurt you!"

"Eh," Ichigo huffed, taking her hand gently. "They wouldn't know what to do with your old uncle."

Giggles followed his proclamation and they there was a weight on the bed next to him.

They youngest of his little ones, a boy named Sho, and gripped onto the mattress and was pulling himself up next to him. He looked into Ichigo's eyes, full of worry and sadness.

"They won't take you away right away will they?" he asked quietly. "You'll get to stay with us until they come and get you? We'll get to say goodbye?"

Ichigo wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close to his chest. "Of course," he replied. "I will stay with all of you 'til the very end. 'Til they drag me away."

The little ones all nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"Now why don't you all run along and have some fun?" he asked. "Uncle Ichi is getting kinda tired. You don't wanna hang around the room while I take a nap do you?"

His little ones were off in a shot as they all raced from the room and down the hall. Now it was just him and his children, as well as the children of Uryuu and Orihime and the children that had been adopted into the family in whatever way.

"Uncle Ichi," Masako, Tamami's twin began, making her way to his bed side. "How are you feeling?"

"As good as an old man can," he returned with a grin.

A dark haired man pushed up his glasses with his thumb. "I don't think that's what she's really asking," Rin Ishida said smoothly.

"And there is that seriousness," Ichigo muttered to himself before talking more to the others in the room. "It was the truth. But… I will probably pass soon. As in possibly even tonight sometime. Maybe even sooner."

It was strange giving himself just a few hours of life left, but he felt it, deep in his bones that he was right.

"But there is no sense for you to be worrying about an old man like me. This has been coming for a long time. I have lived a nice full life and I have all of my children and little ones with me so I'm happy. Besides you know I'm not going anywhere bad."

"We're just a bit worried for you Uncle, that's all. We know it will be hard for you when you go back to the seireitei. You haven't been there is so long. And your friends… and our parents they…"

"Oh don't think like that," Ichigo said to her and himself really. "They all thought they were doing the right thing."

"That doesn't really excuse them," Rin spoke up again. "My mother and father barely spoke to you anymore and when I was born your friendship was nothing. But you took me in after they died and you…"

Ichigo sighed. "Yes I was left alone… by pretty much everyone other than Yuzu. It was painful. It still is to this day. But I've outlived all of them by decades and those decades have taught me so much. I will handle it. I will. have. REVENGE!" he ended jokingly with a bark of horse laughter that ended with a coughing fit that had the children bustling around him in a tizzy.

He settled back down and smiled up at all of them. "Go play with your children," he ordered. "I'll be up for dinner."

"No Uncle. You stay in bed. If we catch you out of bed again we will tie you down!"

That wasn't a joke Ichigo realized as he settled back into the bed and closed his eyes. It had been a promise and he had never been more proud.

Ichigo blinked his eyes open. He felt lighter than he had in probably 30 years. He doesn't hurt as he pushes himself to sit up (he did that on his own!), his limbs didn't buckle and his joints didn't creak. As he looked around the room he realized his vision was clear for the first time since he was in his 50s.

He understands as he looks down at the bed. He had left behind his body. He sighed and moved off the bed. His feet touched the floor and despite the fact that he was dead, he smiled. He left the room and made his way down the hall way to the living room where he family was, swifter then he had moved in so long but so slow to what he had been capable of in his youth.

He stood in the entrance to the living room and looked over his family. They hadn't realized he was there yet as the little ones played. It was Sho who looked up and saw him over his mother's shoulder. The little boy gasped gaining the attention of the others who turned in his direction and for some reason, Ichigo suddenly felt nervous. He looked down at himself. It was odd that he appeared different. He was dressed in a plain green yukata tied at his wait with a deep red obi. His hands were large and strong looking and he was tall again. His feet were bare on the hardwood floor.

But then there was a question that was shouted out at him from one of his little ones. "Are you here to take uncle Ichi away?"

"He isn't dressed like a shinigami you dummy!"

They didn't recognize him!

"I'm hurt!" he cried, sipping away a fake tear, and god he had somehow become his father. "How could you not recognize me! My little ones don't remember me!"

There was a collection of amazed gasps.

"Uncle Ichi!?"

"So," he began casually. "Still think I can't take on the shinigami?" He looked at Tamami with a grin before turning to the little once. "Well what do you guys think? Think I can take on that mean old captain Byakuya now?"

They nodded, eyes wide.

Then there was a black butterfly fluttering across his line of sight and Ichigo frowned deeply. That was fast. He just died. He had figured he would have more time. And then there was a man there. Standing on the coffee table with his head bowed and hand on his sword in some "Good guy" pose. He was talking to himself two, running a personal monolog of exaggerated heroics, before he finally looked up and surveyed the area.

He talked quietly to himself but dramatically and he caught sight of Ichigo.

"And the hero Taichi Jirou finds another lost soul to send to the glories of soul society." And Ichigo honestly couldn't handle anymore. He was the local shinigami and also incredibly new.

And then a shoe flew out of nowhere and slammed into the side of Jirou's face. The shinigami stopped, spinning around again to look at the human's in the room.

"Yeah," Ichigo said slowly, wholly unimpressed. "Most of them can see you."

The shinigami's jaw dropped as he looked between the large group of humans to Ichigo and back. He was mumbling quickly under his breath. Ichigo sighed before he turned back to his family.

"Listen to me very carefully." he said. "I don't want to see any of you for a very long time. I want you to live long happy lives. If I can sneak away to come visit I will. When you do come to the soul society, you know where to find me."

"Siring up trouble Uncle?" Shin asked.

"Exactly." Ichigo grinned before turning back to the shinigami who was still muttering to himself. "Listen, why don't you do your job. And I don't need some long-winded spiel about how awesome the soul society is."

The shinigami looked fronted and there was giggling in the back ground. As the shinigami approached Ichigo took another look to his family, taking in all of their faces. "I love you." He said as the shinigami pressed the hilt of his zanpakutō to his forehead.

Then there was a warmth, and his eyes slid shut.

" _Ichigo, can you hear me?"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay Chapter 2 is a short one. But it's a set up for the rest to come. Enjoy. (Again not Beta-ed and my computer often trolls me so…)**

 **Chapter 2**

" _Ichigo, can you hear me?"_

Ichigo froze. It had been so long since he had heard that voice.

" _Yeah King,"_ came a jeer. _"Haven't forgotten our voices have you?"_

And suddenly it wasn't dark anymore. He was in a world he hadn't seen in 70 years, and it was so much different then he remembered.

" _It is a nice change isn't it Ichigo?"_ Zangetsu asked looking over the new world.

"Nice," he agreed slowly, looking around to commit it to memory. "But why is it like this? Why has it changed so much?"

" _The inner world reflects the soul Ichigo, you remember this."_ Zangetsu replied, taking a few steps closer to his wielder. _"This world now reflects your soul as it was when you died."_

They were all sitting on the covered deck of a small shoten which was surrounded by cherry blossom trees. It was situated on the top of a hill with a large river a the base. The river cut through the landscape toward a large mountain in the distance. Fields of tall green grass stretched on for miles on both sides of the river, with smatterings of trees and clusters of rocks here and there. The sky was painted with a beautiful sunset with yellows and golds blending with corals and oranges before the darker pinks, purples, and blues took over. It was so different then the sideways world of reflecting glass, concrete, and water. Ichigo smiled. It reminded him so much of the things his little ones would draw for him. He had them all over the house. Pinned up to the fridge in the kitchen, hung up in frames in the clinic and hallways, and in his room. He kept his favorite ones in a stack on his bedside table. He even wrote notes for them to open when they were older on the backs of their work.

"They made this world for me." he said with a warm, gentle smile.

Shiro gaged. _"Don't go getting too sappy King. I don't think I can take it for to long."_

A moment of silence passed between the three and the all looked out toward the mountains.

" _It still rains."_ Zangetsu said. _"The storms come from over the mountain and it rains. If it rains to much the river floods. The hills has gotten higher over time, so it's harder to flood this place."_ He gestured around at the trees and shoten. _"It's been a long time since then, it had rained less and less over the years, but we fear that it may begin again."_

" _We want to know what you plan to do now."_ Shiro added. _"Will you go back to them?"_

"I am." Ichigo sighed. "I don't know if Yuzu joined the shinigami. There are only a few people that are currently dead that I care much for at the moment. I need to know if she's okay. If she isn't there, then I'm going to search the districts even if it takes a hundred years."

" _Alright then."_ Shiro replied with a smirk. _"But didn't you promise your little ones you would stir up some trouble?"_

"Tell you what," Ichigo said with a matching smirk. "I might be persuaded to let you play with Kenpachi and Isshin."

Shiro's smirk grew with a more crazed gleam entering his eyes.

"Anyway," Ichigo said, looking again to the mountain and sky. "I guess if we want that opportunity I should start heading to the sereitei shouldn't I?"

"Get going king!"

Ichigo's chuckle echoed in his own ears as his vision faded to white. When he came to he knew exactly where he was. He didn't need the 20 or so men and women coming at him to know. He didn't need the hollow, crumbling buildings to know. All he needed was the feeling in the air and the stench of blood and the sound of cries in the distance. He was in District 80 of Rukon. Now he wasn't sure which one, knowing irony it was North, Kenpachi's district.

He felt a weight on his back, not quite familiar, so as he watched the would be attackers he reached back. His hand connected with the hilt of a sword. He pulled it forward, and saw that it was the blade-less hilt of the sword he first wielded. That was strange… Why would Zangetsu appear like this? If he wasn't in released shikai, why not appear at least as the original large bladed sword?

Ichigo slammed the hilt into the closest persons forehead, kicking another person away moments later.

Since he had first called Zangetsu's name and achieved shikai, he hadn't sealed like other swords so he hadn't given much thought about the form he would take. He vividly remembered Urahara slicing through the sword like it was butter, leaving just the hilt.

Ichigo jumped up, planting his foot into someones face and pushed off to slam his fist into someones else face.

" _When you performed the Final Getsuga Tesho, Shiro and I had believed that it would mean the end of us, that your soul would have been torn apart, and we and our power would cease. That was almost the case. Your inner world was destroyed. However we didn't die. We were sealed. Your power began growing again, slowly over time, and the inner world shifted. We woke and tried calling for you but you couldn't hear us until now. When you call my name, we will be fully released again."_ Zangetsu said solemnly.

But if he called Zangetsu's name now, he's positive it would alert those of the seireitei despite the distance, which he doesn't want to happen.

" _You know how much they hate surprises king."_ Shiro practically sang.

"They deserve this." Ichigo grunted, ramming his heel into someones knee. "I don't want the to know I'm here 'til I'm knocking down their gate."

"I would end up here wouldn't I?" He groused to himself, dropping the last of the would be attackers, before looking at the whimpering group of souls. "District 80. North Rukongai." He paused, taking in a deep breath.

"I've got some walking to do I suppose," he breathed.

" _Yeah so you best get moving king,"_ Shiro sang.

Ichigo sighed again before snagging a scarf from one of the downed people. It was disgusting, but people were staring at his hair. It always had garnered more attention than he thought necessary. Already a few people seemed to be trying to sum up enough courage to attack him again. He gave them, bloodthirsty as the people of District 80 were, even some of them had some level of self-preservation, and watching one man take out some of the most vicious and blood thirsty in their population had to trigger something. He quickly wrapped it around his hair before cracking his neck. It was for show, but it made the slowly approaching figures to retreat a few steps back… and he would be lying if that didn't bring a sense of satisfaction.

And so he began his walk.

—(meanwhile)—

"Now that everyone is present and accounted for," Yamamoto began, opening one eye to stare at the madly grinning captain of the eleventh squad."We can now call this captains meeting to order."

"If I may head captain," Toshiro spoke up from his position among the others. "This meeting was called hastily seeing as we just met the other day, and we were given no clue as to what it was about."

"Yes," Yamamoto said, his voice taking on a more grave tone as he looked out over the others. "I will allow Captain Komamura to take over as he is the one who holds all of the details."

Everyone turned to the large captain and realized that he too held the same grave air about him.

"Last evening, one of my men posted in the world of the living performed a Konso,"

"Well that is what soul reapers do," Kenpachi said, voice bored and antagonizing.

"Yes well if you would let me finish you would understand the importance." Komamura growled before composing himself again. "As I was saying, he performed a Konso on an old man. He found the body expecting the soul to be near by as the death had occurred not long ago. He found the soul not far away, still in the same house near what must have been members of the family. However the soul didn't appear as old as it should have been based on the mans body,"

"Ah, a young soul," Jyuushiro said with a smile. "It's not often we see one of those. It's more often to be an old soul. But even those to manifest in such a way is very rare."

There was a murmur of agreements that swept through the meeting before Komamura cut through them.

"Indeed. However, my subordinate, Jirou, reported something interesting about the family. They could see him."

Shock left everyone in silence and Komamura continued.

"Jirou described the soul to me. He was dressed in a simply yukata, but he saw what he believed to be the hilt of a sword near his shoulder. He was a tall, broad shouldered man, but Jirou said he had one very defining feature."

"Orange hair." came a low voice.

The captains turned their eyes to the captain of the 12th squad. The man that "reclaimed" the title captain after Kurotsuchi's death.

"That was the defining feature right?" Kisuke asked. "It isn't hard to put everything together. Ichigo's time was running short. We knew all that."

"Yes." Komamura said, pulling his eyes from the blond haired man. "And Jirou somehow didn't realize this and escort Ichigo here directly."

"So he sent Ichigo to Rukongai." Shunsui said with a sigh and a shake of the head. "Which means there is a possibility of never finding him if he didn't regain any measure of his powers back in death, or he could not remember anything.." The man trailed off and the room was again left in silence.

Kisuke managed to control the pained noise that wanted to force itself past his lips. He felt like something was wrapped around his throat, and his chest was tight. He glanced to the captain directly in front of him, captain of the 3rd squad, Isshin. The man's brows were furrowed and his lips were pressed in a firm line. He looked up and the two men made eye contact for moment before Yamamoto spoke.

"Very well." he said. "From this moment forward, it is a priority of all squads to send patrols into the Rukon districts in search of Ichigo Kurosaki. This priority will only end when he is found and brought to the seiretei. Dismissed!"

With that the old man used his staff like a gavel to signal the end of the meeting. The captains began to make their way out of the meeting hall bask to their squads to begin the work for the large scale search. Yamamoto even retreated into his office. That left only two men in the meeting room. Kisuke had turned toward the windows in the room. In the distance he could make out the vast expanse of buildings and woods that made up the Rukongai.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us to find your son Isshin," he said light heartedly, pulling a fan out of his sleeve to snap open and wave infant of his face.

Isshin stared at the man. He had never actually been able to find or define the boundaries of the relationship this man and his son had had. It had been an odd friendship that had evolved from mentorship. When he had left, Ichigo often spent a bit of time at Urahara's shoten on a frequent bases and Urahara had been called back to the seieritei years after, to fill a position that the man hadn't really wanted back. He himself had been offered the captaincy of the 3rd after Rose expressed little interest in returning for it.

"Yeah…" He said, thinking about his children. His little girls and his big strong boy who grew up way to fast. "And knowing my son he isn't going to make it easy on us."

Kisuke laughed.

"Good. All the power to him."


End file.
